Shannon Washburn, vice president of watch development, is to replace Panis on the same date, according to a statement released Thursday.

Panis, 40, said in the release that it was the right time for him in his career to "move on" and that he plans to take time before deciding what he'll do next.

He was not available for further comment Thursday.

Panis may be better suited to moving on to something "entrepreneurial" at this time, the global brand's founder, Tom Kartsotis, said in the release. Panis helped create the company alongside Kartsotis.

"The brand has evolved to a point where the best parts of Jacques' unique capabilities can be put to better use in a role that is more entrepreneurial than what his current role has become," Kartsotis said. "... This unique guy wants to explore how his unique gifts can be more rewarding, both creatively and professionally."

Panis said he plans to "continue supporting" the Detroit-based brand.

He started with Shinola in 2010 at its inception, leading the company's brand strategy and product development. He became president in 2013.

Panis, who moved to Detroit in 2014, is a board member for the Detroit Institute of Arts and Detroit Children's Fund.

Before joining Shinola, Panis led Dallas-based animation studio ReelFX's interactive division. During that time, he helped found Webosaurs, an online children's game.

Washburn, 57, will lead the brand, product development teams and marketing, the release said. She will report to CEO Tom Lewand, the former Detroit Lions team president Kartsotis hired in June 2016.

Washburn and Kartsotis have worked together for about three decades, according to the release.

The announcement of Panis' exit comes about eight months after Chief Marketing Officer Bridget Russo said she was leaving the company to take a professional break and possibly launch a new company in Detroit.

Shinola has grown from a boutique watchmaker in Detroit to a large-scale producer of upscale bicycles, bags, turntables, jewelry and office accessories with 28 stores across the globe — 26 in the U.S. — and 650 employees.

It has a factory on West Milwaukee Street in the New Center area and a store on West Canfield Street in Midtown — the first one it opened in Detroit in 2013.

Shinola, a privately-held company and subsidiary of Plano, Texas-based Bedrock Manufacturing Co. LLC, generally does not disclose its sales.

The manufacturer also stepped into the hospitality industry about two years ago. Panis has helped lead the creation of Shinola Hotel, a 130-room boutique hotel expected to open in downtown Detroit in the fall. Shinola teamed with Dan Gilbert's Bedrock LLC on the project at 1400 Woodward Ave.

Developing a hotel was a wide step outside of Shinola's retail comfort zone. But it made sense, looking at a Shinola store, to use its expertise as a "craftsmanship brand" for such a renovation, Panis said in 2016.

Shortly after Lewand was hired on as CEO of Shinola, Bedrock Manufacturing settled with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over claims it overstated the extent to which its Shinola products were made or built in the U.S., Crain's reported.

The FTC went after Shinola for branding its watches as "Built in Detroit," while assembling in the U.S. and using foreign-made watch components and parts.

"We were behind the word 'built' and 'build' because we thought it meant 'assembled' and best represented what we were doing," Russo said in 2016. "We didn't put 'American Made,' and we've always been very transparent on our website."